No Sports in Duval County Schools Next Year? (Miami: high school, income)

[fsquid]

Noone is asking anyone to "pick up the tab". High school sports have been free (for the most part) forever. Literally.

Well, Duval County tax payers are picking up the tab unless officials are working for free and the buses don't use gas.

[mississippimagnolia]

Noone is asking anyone to "pick up the tab". High school sports have been free (for the most part) forever. Literally.

No they haven't. Not everywhere. We've lived literally all over this county as well as overseas. We move every two to three years. My kids have been in high schools in North Carolina, in Mississippi, in Georgia, in Maryland, in Northern Virginia, and now in Florida. We've never lived anywhere where there wasn't some kind of fee to play. We paid fees for Football, Track, Crew, Basketball, Chorus, Drama, and Band. Here in St. Johns, we pay. I just wrote a check for $50 for Track. And another $50 for the athletic booster club. I paid more fees than I can remember at the beginning of the year. I know I paid about $200 to Chorus. And I remember writing several other checks. It takes money to run programs.

So no. High school sports are not free in most places. There is no money, fsu. It's not going to magically fall out of the money tree. It's either there or it's not. So if there are limited funds, those funds need to go to core classes. Parent may have to pay for the extras.

In several states, we also paid lab fees, supply fees, and classroom fees. We've also lived places where you had to pay to ride the school bus. And in two of my kids' high schools, we had to fork out hundreds of dollars for each kid in uniform fees. There are plenty of public high schools that require uniforms. You also have to pay to park. Here in St. Johns (Creekside HS), I think the fee to park was only $60. At my kids' high school in Northern Virginia, a yearly parking pass was $200. Guess what? If you didn't have the money, you didn't drive to school. And don't even get me started on the Senior Fees... Should we offer "waivers" for all those things as well? Where is the money going to come from? Sorry, but as a taxpayer, I don't want to fund parking passes just so kids can drive to school. Where does it end? I am willing to buy textbooks and school supplies. I certainly agree that we should provide free lunches. But football? Sorry, but that's extra. If you can't afford to play then you don't play. That's just part of life.

This is not an issue limited to school sports. This is an issue that permeates our society. So many people simply do not understand the simple idea that there is a limited amount of money. There is no magical money fairy. If you can't afford something you don't steal, you don't borrow, you don't accept handouts, you either wait until you can afford it, or you don't get it. I am all about helping out with food, shelter, clothing, and schooling...but the extra-curricular stuff is just that...extra.

[fsquid]

If a kid can't afford the $50, do a work study program like in college. The kids could work a few Saturdays landscaping the school, working in the library, maybe cleaning up the cafeteria kitchen.

[fsu813]

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That's a great idea.

[fsquid]

That is my one for the year.

[wb3690]

haha fsquid. it's really quite a good idea......probably one that some kids could benefit from. maybe even get community service hours out of?

after being pretty close to our football program last year it takes alot of work to get things going and so many of those kids gave everything they could to play.....and I know some of them would NOT be able to afford pay to play even though I think it's a good idea to install. It's hard to watch programs of any kind whether they be arts, music, sports etc go away because of budget issues that kids have nothing to do with.

[fsu813]

Florida gives lip service to education, but not its money. To find out where a societies priorities lay, just follow the money.

Contact your local representatives and tell the that our schools and education is a priority, and should be treated as such.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by fsquid

If a kid can't afford the $50, do a work study program like in college. The kids could work a few Saturdays landscaping the school, working in the library, maybe cleaning up the cafeteria kitchen.

Would probably violate union rules. Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by fsu813

If the kids can't afford to pay $50 a year to participate, then I would argue that their time would be better spent working part-time rather than playing football anyway.

...and how do you get someone who hasn't learned responsibility, work ethic, taking pride in what they do, etc to hold a job? Or someone who has no positive male role model, or no adult working in thier family, to form a resume, or fill out on online job application, or even get to this available job (assuming one is available....)? Did you see the big article in the TU the other week about how the horrible bus system prevents a lot of people from even reaching employment opprotunities? I worked in HS instead of playing football, but I didn't have any of those issues holding me back. I know and have known people that do, and the assumptions you are making about what is realistic and what is not is simply out of touch.

You can volunteer at one of these orgs to see for yourself, if you like:

The Sanctuary on 8th Street - Home & The Bridge of Northeast Florida (http://www.bridgejax.com/home-page - broken link)



I would never in a million years dream of suggesting that someone else pick up the tab.

Noone is asking anyone to "pick up the tab". High school sports have been free (for the most part) forever. Literally.

I'm not opposed to having a pay-to-play system, but to suggest that means testing/waiver system isn't needed is just crazy. It would be neccesary. Which is completely fine, but it will be an additional task for school administators.....and unless your charging hundreds of dollars per, it won't cover the total costs anyways.

How would you do the first? I agree with your observations - but it is a very delicate subject - and my solution is pretty draconian - certainly not PC (and probably not legal). I'd also like to hear from people like Northside JAX - what they would do.

As for the bus system - it is pretty bad - but the guy they wrote about in the FTU was working as a bartender at the Beaches and needed a bus at something like 2 am to get from the Beaches to Northside (after the system shuts down). Perhaps he could get a job as a server somewhere where he gets off from work before the public transport system shuts down for the night. How easy is it to get a bus/subway from Manhattan to the Bronx at 2 am (reckon it may be possible - but not easy)? Even in Tokyo - a city of 30 million people - there are capsule hotels for guys who drink and dine too late - and miss the last train.

And just FWIW - if you had to choose between abolishing sports - or going to a 4 day school week - which would you choose (both are apparently on the table now). Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by fsu813

Florida gives lip service to education, but not its money. To find out where a societies priorities lay, just follow the money.

Contact your local representatives and tell the that our schools and education is a priority, and should be treated as such.

I think the Florida state budget goes a little over 25% for education. Isn't 1 out of 4 dollars enough?

Having lived in 2 major metro areas in Florida for almost 40 years now - I don't think the problem is spending. I think the 2 most important issues are:

1) Crummy students from crummy families (or - more correctly - non-families - single moms with lots of kids - no dads). Non-families where kids get zero nurturing/support from their biological parents. I don't care how much money taxpayers throw at this problem - it won't work (except perhaps to put some food in the kids' bellies at school when they don't get adequate nutrition at home). This used to be primarily a black problem. Now it is a black and Hispanic and white problem. The single largest factor in terms of a kid winding up as a poor non-accomplishing nothing is being raised in a single parent mom household (although - these days - it may well be a single grandmother household). We cannot raise decent kids when illegitimacy rates range from 30-80%.

2) Lousy teachers. Used to be when I was growing up - a smart woman could only be a teacher or a nurse. Today - smart women can be lawyers - doctors - whatever. Smart women used to be a cheap source of labor in places like schools and hospitals. Not true today.

I've read a lot about the recent union stuff - the arguments about dealing with teachers to be laid off - LIFO or merit and the like. And stuff like classroom sizes. And a whole lot of other side-show issues. But the two things I mentioned above are the most important IMO. The first being paramount. The best teachers in the world can't do much with dysfunctional kids from dysfunctional backgrounds. And crummy teachers won't help students from good backgrounds. FWIW - my husband taught in middle school in the south Bronx during the Vietnam War (to avoid the draft - he wound up being 4F anyway - but he had an interesting year to put it mildly). The stories he tells make my hair stand on end. And things in places like the south Bronx (or Northside JAX and the like) aren't any better today than they were 40 years ago (I'm sure they're worse). Robyn